How Does Miss Maudie Show Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Everyone is born with some form of courage. The question is, in their lifetime, will they choose to use it and grow from it? People can be courageous in many different situations and through multiple types of courage. In To Kill A Mockingbird, the author, Harper Lee, values standing up for what is right as being the most important category of courage. Harper Lee displays acts of courage through the characters when Atticus defends Tom Robinson, Scout and Jem choose not to show their anger through violence, and town’s people stand up for Tom and Atticus; thus showing that the author believes that standing up for what is right is the most valuable attribute of courage.

In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates standing up for …show more content…

Characters like Miss Maudie, Mr. Underwood, and Heck Tate, display this when they bravely support Atticus when he is targeted while defending Tom Robinson. For example, Mr. Underwood chose to watch out for Atticus when the lynch mob came to the jail, attempting to kill Tom. In this instance, Atticus was being threatened by a large crowd of drunken men. All the while, Mr. Underwood was stationed near him so that if something went wrong and the mob tried to do something, he could stop them. In the situation, Mr. Underwood remarks to Atticus, “Had you covered all the time, Atticus.” He shows that he was willing to look out for Atticus and Tom even though the rest of the townspeople may not have appreciated it. Similarly, in To Kill A Mockingbird, another character, Miss Maudie, showed that she contained courage when she also stood up for Atticus while at a meeting with many of her friends. When one of her friends discreetly, without mentioning who, said something negative about Atticus, Miss Maudie decided to step in. She subtly remarks that the ladies are hypocritically talking about Atticus behind his back while eating the food from his table. Overall, Harper Lee’s characters continuously show courage by choosing to stand up for what is

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